Coconut & Raspberry-Drizzled White Chocolate Popcorn

For over four years, I have been gifting Easton’s teachers with mason jars full of food that comes from our kitchen: cookies, marshmallows or chocolate bark*, usually. For the holidays, I give them proper presents, but for other occasions, like  Easton’s last day in their class, Teacher Appreciation Day and Valentine’s Day, we bake. To me, it’s personal: I want them to know that I am really thankful of them and the time they’ve put into Easton’s early education and, in turn, I want to put time into saying thank you.

(*I just realized I really like this flavor combo, apparently.)

But, in September, when Easton was about to move into her next (and last) class in this school, I learned a lesson. We chose a recipe together, for a Chocolate Cookie Crumble, meant to be stored in the freezer and poured over ice cream. Easton and I stirred together the dough, dropped it onto the baking sheet and slid it into the oven. Once cool, I transferred into the mason jar and Easton and I worked together to write her teacher a note.

We were done when Easton said, Wait, write one more thing. So, we added, “I helped Mommy make this for you!” I was about to close the card up, when my sister, who works in a school system, FaceTimed us.

As Easton excitedly told her what we just did, she nodded along, but something seemed off. I had to push, but finally she told me: It’s just that we’re always a little hesitant about homemade gifts.

Later, I called my other sister, who also works in a school system. Yeah, she reluctantly confirmed.

Huh.

It made so much sense once she said it: you’re given a gift by people whose home life, you know little about. You don’t know if they keep a clean kitchen, if they are serious hand washers or if their kitchen is full of the one thing that you’re allergic to.

At Easton’s tiny school, they know me. They know I make Easton’s food every day and that food is part of my career. They’ve always said thank you and later, asked me about this spice or that recipe. But, maybe they were being polite.

I added an extra line to Easton’s thank you card before tucking it into the envelope, “I cleaned my hands really well, first, just like you taught me!”

Now, with one more Valentine’s Day left, before Easton goes to a much bigger elementary school where the teachers will not know me and will not know whether they can trust my kitchen hygiene or my ingredients, I’m trying to decide if I should stand strong and make handmade treats, one more time.

If I do, I’m considering making this popcorn, which is admittedly polarizing for another reason: white chocolate.

I know this is a huge issue, namely because many people hold strong that white chocolate isn’t chocolate. And, then there are other people who stand by their dark-chocolate-for-life beliefs. And, there are people who just don’t like white chocolate: it’s too sweet, it’s too one dimensional, it’s too not real chocolate.

While I love white chocolate, I can understand a few of these worries. And, I can fix them. First, to the popcorn, a healthy spoonful of kosher salt, which helps cut into the chocolate’s sweetness. Then, a few shakes of cayenne, which adds layers of flavor. Then, there’s the raspberry drizzle, which lends an occasional tart bite. Lastly, I decided that while I was already using white chocolate, I might as well go full force with the controversial foods: toasted flake coconut, which boosts the nuttiness and texture, while echoing the coconut oil used to pop the popcorn.

If you’re sold on the flavors, there are a couple reasons to consider this popcorn for gifting: a little bit of popcorn takes up a lot of room, so you can feel like you’re giving something substantial and unless you’re making gifts for tons of people, you can probably take care of it in one to two batches. It’s nut-free, which is important in schools these days. And, it’s highly adaptable. Want more raspberry tartness? Double the drizzle. Want a faint pink instead of deep? Use less raspberry powder. Feel like you just need “real” chocolate? Add a drizzle of melted semisweet or dark chocolate along with, or in place of the raspberry. And, lastly, don’t have time to pop your own popcorn? Use a salted brand from the store you like.

(A few reasons I’ve been known to use this approach: I couldn’t stand to clean another pot; I actually did pop the popcorn only to find out that while not expired, the popcorn was stale; I just straightened my hair and really didn’t want it to smell like freshly popped popcorn; laziness.)

I don’t really know what I’m going to do next week: trust that I’ve instilled enough confidence in Easton’s teachers to trust me and give the homemade, handmade gifts one more go around, or pick up something small that is professionally sealed. But, this white chocolate popcorn, sweet, salty, nutty, just barely spicy and tart, is making a strong case for the former.